States couldn't afford to wait for the FCC's broadband maps to improve. So they didn't

Some states are starting to move with more urgency to solve the broadband gap. It's a problem that affects millions of Americans and is particularly urgent in light of a pandemic that has forced most interactions, from classes to weddings, to go online. While the federal government works to allocate $20 billion on top of billions of dollars in funding already earmarked for unserved communities, there remains a lack of understanding of where the problems lie. The Federal Communications Commission's broadband map isn't detailed enough to pinpoint unserved areas, and that's left millions of Americans behind. Unless the data improves, service is unlikely to improve. The FCC now will require internet service providers to share more detailed data, giving a better picture of what areas are unserved by broadband. It will also have to open the map to public feedback, letting people flag when something is wrong and providing more data points on gaps. But some experts say the new mapping parameters still aren't granular enough, and the new maps almost certainly will arrive too late to help people during the pandemic. States aren't waiting around for the FCC. That includes Georgia, Maine and Pennsylvania, which are building their own maps, as well as many other states around the nation. They're drawing on speed test data, specific information from ISPs about what homes they serve, and other resources to find out where their gaps are.